A002930 – History of Japan
熊本評論 [Kumamoto hyōron], 20.09.1907. Illustration of the Japanese proverb, “One general succeeds and countless bones rot “, derived from the line「一将功成、万骨枯 of a
poem by the Chin poet Cao Song (830–901).
© Christian Uhl, UGent
1
General Information
When?
On Thursdays, 16:00 to 19:00. First class: 26. 09. 2019.
Where?
Campus boekentoren 05.03.110.063 = Auditorium 3 “Suzanne Lilar”, ground
floor Blandinberg 2 (main building of the Faculty Lettren en wijsbegeerte. Map:
http://admin.flwi.ugent.be/maps/?id=05.03.100.005& )
Books you need
Conrad Totman. A History of Japan. The Blackwell History of the World. Malden
MA, Oxford UK, Berlin: Blackwell Publishing, 2000 (or newest edition).
W.J. Boot. Keizers en Shōgun. Een Geschiedenis van Japan tot 1868. Amsterdam: Salomé – Amsterdam Univ. Press, 2001 (not needed for exch. students)
There is a stock pile of the books (newest edition) for a reduced student price
waiting for you at Standard Boekenhandel in the shop on the Kouter:
http://www2.standaardboekhandel.be/nl/winkels/gent-kouter.
Additional readings, lecture scripts, etc., on MINERVA
UFORA is our electronic learning platform. Please make sure that you are inscribed on UFORA for this course so that you have access to documents and get
notifications. Additional readings, lecture scripts and announcements will be
distributed and stored there for down-loading.
Exam
In order to pass this course you have to successfully participate in the final
exam (date will be announced). The final exam will consist of 20 questions.
Some of them are multiple choice questions, others require a short written
answer (in English or Dutch, as you prefer). Instructions for your exam preparation will be given in class and on UFORA. The most effortless road to the examination is coming to class, taking notes, and doing the readings.
How to contact me
Contact me after class, or write me an e-mail: Christian.Uhl@UGent.be. If you
are lucky, you’ll find me in my office: Blandijnberg 2, 5th floor, room 150.019.
More details (ECTS, etc.) on the official data sheet:
https://studiegids.ugent.be/2017/NL/studiefiches/A002930.pdf
2
Structure and Readings
Intro
General information / Philosophical Orientation
00
What is “history” and why are we obsessed with it? Linear
time, historical consciousness, and the status of the historical
disciplines in the modern order of knowledge
01
Our textbooks in meta-historical perspective: Objectivity and
the “fiction of the facts” / the problem of periodization.
TOTMAN: Intro 1 – 8; BOOT: Voorwoord, inleiding 9 – 13.
Part I
From the Pre-Historical Times to the Reforms of the 7th century
02
From 250 BC to AD 400: The emergence of an archaic “state”.
TOTMAN: 11–31; BOOT: 14–21.
03
From the 5th century to AD 701: The role of the emperor, the
Taika reforms, the Jinshin disturbance, the move to Nara.
TOTMAN: 34 – 86; BOOT: 22 – 28.
Part II
The Establishment and the Decline of the Ritsuryō-System
04
From 701 to 967: The ritsuryō-style administration from the
enactment of the Taihō codex to the enactment of the Engi
shiki and the institutionalisation of the rule by regents.
TOTMAN: 87 – 112; BOOT 29 – 39.
05
From 967 to 1185: The decline of the dajōkan system, the
increase of large-scale land ownership, the shōen and the rise
of the bushi.
TOTMAN: 113 – 138; BOOT: 39 – 47.
Part III
From Shōen-Based Feudalism to Mura-Based Feudalism
06
From 1185 to 1333: The the shōen-based feudalism of the
Kamakura period; the definition of “feudalism”, comparison
with feudalism in Europe.
TOTMAN: 139 – 171; BOOT: 48 – 57.
07
From 1333 to 1598: The disintegration of shōen-based feudalism, the decentralized feudalism of the warring states period
and the growth of cities and villages; the feudalism under Tyotomi Hideyoshi.
TOTMAN: 172 – 215; BOOT: 58 – 80.
3
Part IV
The Consolidation, Decline and Collapse of the Tokugawa Rule
08
From 1600 to 1700: the consolidation of village-based feudalism, leader-retainer relationships under the Tokugawa, the rise
of the merchants and the crisis of the Tokugawa.
TOTMAN: 215 – 245; BOOT: 81 – 93.
09
From 1700 to 1868: The crisis of village-based feudalism, the
arrival of Western imperialism, the collapse of the Tokugawa
rule, and the imperial restoration of 1868.
TOTMAN: 246 – 306; BOOT: 93 – 108.
Part V
The Establishment and Decay of Constitutional Monarchy
10
From 1868 to 1931: from the Meiji reforms and the making of
the constitution the "Manchurian incident” and the rise of "Ja-panese Fascism".
TOTMAN: 307 – 359
11
From 1931 to 1945: From the Manchurian incident to the "China incident” to the “Greater East Asian War” and Japan’s capitulation.
TOTMAN: 360 – 401; 417 – 438.
Part VI
The Rise of Japan as a Constitutional Democracy
12
The post-war years from the allied occupation to the "economic miracle" to the "bubble economy" of the late 1980s.
TOTMAN: 439 – 502
Part VII
The Crisis of the "Lost Decades" , and "Abenomics"
13
The "two lost decades" from the burst of the "bubble" to the
"triple disaster" of 2011 and the victory of Abe Shinzō in the
general elections of 2012.
No readings assigned
14
Japan's Splendor and Misery in the first five years of "Abenomics" (2013 - 2017). Addendum: Japan in the year 2018.
No readings assigned
On the following pages you find an overview over the periodization of Japanese
History (our course: the last column at the right), and a chronology, stretching
from the year 108 BCE (archaic period) to 2017 ("Abenomics").
4
Overview Periodization
Western
Calendar
–10000 BC
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300 BC
Western style
Periodization
Commonly used Periods /
BOOT (– 1868)
prehistoric
senshi 先史
(paleolithic p.)
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proto-historic
genshi 原史
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AD 400
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Jōmon (10.000 ~ 300 BC)
①130.000 early forager society.
Late Pleistocene; Paleolithic
② 13.000 later forager society.
Holocene; Meso-Neolithic, Jōmon
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Yayoi (~300 BC ~AD 300)
AD 300
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0
AD 500
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Manager of a Human-centered
Biological Community
③ dispersed agricultural society.
400 BC – AD 700: growth;
750 – 1250: stasis.
400 BC – AD 250: Yayoi
250 – 710 Kofun tomb culture
Kofun (~ 300 – 710)
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AD 500
AAO293O
ISHII, Uhl
Top Predator
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AD 300
Periodization
TOTMAN (– 1990)
Part I
From prehistorical times
to
the reforms of
the 7th century
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AD 600
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00
Asuka (593 – 710)
AD 700
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AD 800
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AD 900
ancient period
kodai 古代
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AD 1000
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AD 1100
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AD 900
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Nara (710 – 794)
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Heian (794 – 1185)
Fujiwara (894 – 1185)
710 – 794 Nara; classical aristocratic bureaucracy (ritsuryō)
794 – 1050 Heian, classical aristocratic bureaucracy (ritsuryō)
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Part II
The rise and
decline of the
ritsuryō system
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Azuchi -
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0
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AD 1200
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AD 1300
Medieval period
chūsei 中世
Kamakura (1185 – 1333)
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AD 1400
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AD 1500
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AD 1400
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AD 1600
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Muromachi (1333 –1568)
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Nanboku (1337 – 1392)
Sengoku (1467 – 1568)
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AD 1600
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AD 1700
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AD 1800
1185 – 1250 early Kamakura
shogunate (early medieval)
④ 1250 intensive agric. society
1250 – 1700: growth;
1700 – 1870: stasis.
1250 – 1333 later Kamakura.
1333 – 1600 Muromachi or
Ashikaga; late medieval, feudal
(Nanboku, Sengoku, Azuchi-M.)
Azuchi-Momoyama (–1600)
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early modern
kinsei 近世
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Edo/Tokugawa (1600–1868)
Part III
The rise and
decline of
shōen- based
feudalism
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1600 – 1867 Edo or Tokugawa
shogunate; early modern;
centralized feudalism.
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Part IV
The rise and
decline of
centralized,
village-based
feudalism
AD 1850
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1868–1890 early Meiji; modern
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AD 1900
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modern period
kindai 近代
Meiji (1868 – 1912)
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Taishō (1912 – 1926)
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AD 1945
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AD 1989
Shōwa (1926 – 1989)
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contemporary
gendai 現代
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Heisei (1989 – present)
5
Exploiter of the Dead
⑤ 1890s start industrial society
1890 – 1990: growth
1890–1945 imperial Japan
1945–pres. entrepreneurial Jap.
Part V
Constitutional
monarchy, rise
and decline
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Parts VI & VII
Constitutional
democracy,
rise (VI) and crisis (VII)
Chronology I & II – Archaic Period / Rise and Decline of the Ritsuryō Order
Based on: ISHII Ryōsuke, A History of Political Institutions in Japan. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1980: 133-38. With minor changes.
Archaic period, 250BC-701AD
• Tribal social formations
• State based on uji and kabane
Ancient Period, 701-1185, the era of the ritsuryō state
• Establishment, Consolidation of the ritsuryō order: Nara, early Heian, 701-967
• Decline of the ritsuryō order: later Heian, 967-1185
108 BCE – Emperor Wu Di of the Former Han
dynasty establishes four commanderies in
Korea. Beyond these, in Japan, lie “over one
hundred countries” according to the Han
History.
702 – Taihō ritsuryō put into effect.
25 AD – establishment Later Han dynasty.
718 – Yōrō ritsuryō code enacted.
57 – the Na country of Wa sends an
embassy to the Later Han
107 – the king “of the country of Mendo” in
Wa and others send an embassy to the later
Han court.
720 – Compilation of the Nihon shoki.
722 – announcement of plan to reclaim one
million chō of new land for cultivation.
In the latter half of the 2nd century AD –
“great disorder” in Wa, clans warring with
one another. Eventually all agree to submit
to the authority of Queen Himiko.
220 – fall of the Later Han, three kingdoms
of Wei, Wu, and Shu.
247 – Himiko wars with the country of Kuna.
Himiko dies, is succeeded by 13 year old girl of
her clan, Toyo.
265 – kingdom of Wei destroyed by the Qin,
continental support for Himiko ends.
318 – alleged year of emperor Sujin’s death.
391 – Wa armies battle with Paekche and
Silla in Korea.
421 – first of “five kings of Wa” sends embassy
to the Chinese Southern Court.
538 – Buddhism Introduced to Japan
562 – Wa forces destroyed in Korea.
572 – Soga no Umako appointed as Ōomi.
592 – Empress Suiko enthroned.
593 – Prince Shōtoku is made Crown Prince,
conducts affairs of the state jointly with Soga
no Umako. Begin of Asuka period.
603 – twelve-tier system of court ranks established.
604 – seventeen-articles constitution
announced.
623 – scholars return from Tang (610-907)
China and praise the excellence of Tang
administration and law.
645 – the Soga uji gets destroyed; enthronement of emperor Kōtoku, proclamation of
the Taika era; oath of loyalty under the great
padanus tree.
646 – Taika reform edict.
649 – the “eight ministries and one hundred
official posts” of government are established
668 – emperor Tenchi formally enthroned,
Prince Ōama made “brother imperial”.
670 – first nationwide census.
671 – Tenchi offers succession to Ōama, but
Ōama retires to Yoshino.
672 – the Jinshin uprising of Prince Ōama, who
subsequently becomes emperor Tenmu.
681 – edict announcing the compilation of
ritsurō laws.
684 – Tenmu’s eight kabane proclaimed.
694 – court moves to new Fujiwara capital.
701 – Taihō ritsuryō code enacted (Taihō is the
regnal name of emperor Monmu).
710 – the court moves to Nara, begining Nara
period.
712 – compilation of the Kojiki.
723 – Law of “three generations and a lifetime”,
newly opened fields (konden) exempted from
reallotment for the life of the reclaimer, or for
three generations after his death if new
irrigation was provided (early shōen).
745 – konden eidai shizai hō, law, granting
reclaimed lands to reclaimer in perpetuity.
757 – Yōrō ritsuryō put into effect.
939 – Tengyō no ran, failed rebellion of Taira no
Masakado in the Hizen province (first of many
rebellions led by bushi).
967 – Engi shiki put into effect (book 11 with
regulations on the dajōkan). From this point
onwards, the sesshō-kanpaku regency is a
permanent standing institution (= beginning
of the sekkan-sytem of government).
984 – establishment of new shōen forbidden
(Eikan seiri rei).
988 – the gun magistrates and farmers of Owari
province accuse the provincial governor
(kokushi), Fujiwara no Motonaga, of violating
the law.
1008 – the Genji monogatari (Tale of Prince
Genji) basically completed by Murasaki
Shikibu.
759 – first imperial poetry anthology, the Manyōshū, published.
765 – land reclamation prohibited.
1028 – Rebellion of Taira no Tadatsune in the
Kantō area. Defeated 1031 by Minamoto no
Yorinobu, beginning of consolidation of
Minamoto power in the Kantō area.
772 – private land reclamation permitted again,
without restrictions.
1040 – establishment of new shōen forbidden
(Chōkyū seiri rei).
784 – beginning of construction of new capital at
Nagaoka, abortive.
1068 – enthronement of emperor Go-sanjō, beginning of the end of Fujiwara hegemony.
794 – court moves to the new Heian capital, beginning of the Heian period.
1069 – establishment of new shōen forbidden
(Enkyū seiri rei); shōen certificate recording
office (kiroku shōen kenkitsu jo) established.
798 – gun magistrates to be selected from those
with reputation for skill and diligence rather
than simply on the basis of inheritance.
810 - Kusuko incident propels emperor Saga to
throne (int. Fujiwara feud, Nakanari executed)
820 – the Kōnin kyakushiki is enacted (supplementary governmental regulations, kyaku on
penal procedures, shiki on administrative and
ceremonial procedures.
824 – by this year the whole country consists of
66 provinces and “two islands”. For many
centuries no further changes were made to
these administrative boundaries.
857 – Fujiwara no Yoshifusa becomes Daijōdai-jin. Before him, Fujiwara members functioned
as ministers to the left and right, etc.
858 – Fujiwara no Yoshifusa becomes sesshō for
the child-emperor Seiwa, his grandson.
869 – the Jōgan kyakushiki put into effect (the
kyakushiki of the Jōgan era, the second
kyakushiki compilation).
880 – Daijōdaijin Fujiwara no Mototsune is made
regent for an emperor who has come of age.
887 – Fujiwara no Mototsune acquires the title
kampaku (the first time that this title is used).
902 – Engi shōen seiri rei (seiri rei of the Engi era)
first of a series of orders to tackle the shōen
problem: commendations of land to powerful
families forbidden, and powerful families
prohibited from occupying vacant lands.
927 – Engi shiki (the shiki of the Engi era) enacted (compiled between 905 and 927, the
shiki part of the Engi kyakushiki). The Engi
shiki consists of 50 books, the first 10
giving details for the ceremonial procedures
under the auspices of the jingikan. The Engi
shiki is a sacred text of the Shintō religion.
6
1072 – emperor Go-sanjō abdicates, but carries
on direct imperial rule in retirement. Fujiwara
still figure as sesshō or kanpaku, but de
facto power is with the retired emperor.
1086 – emperor Shirakawa abdicates in favor of
Horikawa, but carries on from retirement
(beginning of insei, rule by retired emperors).
1156 – Hōgen no ran (rebellion of the Hōgen
era), a clash of former emperor Toba and
emperor Go-shirakawa over the succession of
the throne, both backed by rivaling Fujiwara,
and by either the Taira, or the Minamoto clan.
Go-shirakawa victorious, holds power as retired emperor during the reign of 5 successive
emperors. Also, the rebellion paved the way
for the bushi grasp of power.
1159 – Heiji no ran (rebellion of the Heiji era),
clash between the Taira and Minamoto clans,
Taira no Kiyomori victorious; the rebellion is a
precursor of the Genpei wars.
1167 – Taira no Kiyomori made Daijōdaijin.
1180 – Minamoto no Yoritomo raises a military
force, establishes headquarters at Kamakura.
Beginning of the Genpei gassen (Genpei wars)
between the Taira (Heike) clan and the
Minamoto (Genji) clan.
1185 – TheTaira (Heike) forces are eventually
destroyed in the battle of Dan no ura (Dan no
ura no tatakai). Hōjō Tokimasa goes to the
capital with a petition to grant Minamoto no
Yoritomo the right to appoint jitō (military
constables) and shugo (land stewards), and
retired emperor Go-shirakawa appoints
Yoritomo as sōjitō (general military constable)
and sōshugo (general land steward). Establishment of the Kamakura bakufu, beginning
of the Kamakura period.
III & IV – From the Establishment of Shōen-Based to the End of Mura-based Feudalism
Based on: ISHII Ryōsuke, A History of Political Institutions in Japan. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1980: 138-44. With minor changes.
The era of feudalism (hōkensei), including the “medieval” (chūsei) and the “early modern” (kinsei) periods
• Shōen-based feudalism: consolidation Kamakura, 1185–1333; decay Muromachi 1333 until 1467
• Decentralized feudalism Muromachi (Sengoku), from 1467–1568
• Han-and-village based feudalism: consolidation Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo, 1568–1742; decline later Edo, 1742– 1868
1187 – a recording office for shōen is established.
1192 – Yoritomo is appointed Sei-i-tai shōgun.
1199 – Yoritomo dies.
1221 – Jōkyū no ran (Jōkyū rebellion), of the retired emperor Go-toba against the Kamakura
bakufu, led by regents of the Hōjō clan. Bakufu victorious, destroys enemies at court.
1223 – Goseibai shikimoku enacted (legal code
of the Kamakura bakufu, marks the feudalization of the legal system; promulgated to
deal with increasing land disputes).
1274 – Bunei war, first Mongol invasion with
Chinese and Korean enforcement, repulsed.
1281 – Koan war, second Mongol invasion,
ditto, Mogol forces eventually destroyed by
a taifun (kamikaze=”winds of the gods”).
1294 – decree of the bakufu, discontinuing all
consideration for further rewards or compensation stemming from the Mongol invasions.
1297 – the bakufu issues a debt remission
order (financial difficulties and growing
dependency of the bushi on money lenders).
1317 – Bumpō wadan, order of the bakufu
stating that imperial succession should
alternate between the rival imperial lines.
1326 – emperor Go-daigo names his son (junior
line) as heir apparent, in violation of the
bakufu order of 1317.
1331 – beginning of open revolt of Go-daigo
against the bakufu.
1332 – Go-daigo refuses to abdicate, is exiled.
Kōmyō of the senior line is enthroned. All
imperial land confiscated by the bakufu.
Go-daigo’s son calls warrior clans to
overthrow the Hōjō.
1333 – Ashikaga Takauji send by the bakufu to
defeat Go-daigo and his supporters, deserts
to Go-daigo’s side. Kamakura bakufu destroyed.
1334 – beginning of the Kenmu restoration
(attempt at restoring direct imperial rule by
Go-daigo).
1335 – Go-daigo refuses to give Ashikaga
Takauchi the shōgun title. Takauchi turns
against Go-daigo,
1337 – Go-daigo flees to Yoshino, establishes
Southern court. Ex-emperor Kōmyō of the
senior line installed in Kyoto as emperor of
the Northern court (start Nanboku era).
1338 – Ashikaga Takauchi made Sei-i-tai shōgun, establishes headquarter at Kyoto, Muromachi district (start Muromachi period).
1352 – Ashikaga Takauji orders the expropriation of 50% of shōen revenues (hanzei hō) in
8 provinces requiring military action.
1368 – hanzei hō put into effect nationwide.
1392 – Northern and Southern court reconciled
after 50 years of civil war.
1441 – the bakufu orders a debt remission
(tokusei rei).
1454 – beginning of Kyōtoku no ran (series of
conflicts over the control over Kantō region.
1457 – Edo castle built (‘seed’ modern Tokyo).
1467 – outbreak of the Ōnin rebellion (=start
Sengoku period).
1477 – Kyoto destroyed, Ōnin war ends, disorder
continues, country completely decentralized.
1526 – Imagawa Uchijika enacts the Kana mokuroku as the law of his domain.
1536 – Date Tanemune enacts the Jinkaishū as
the law of his domain.
1543 – the Portuguese arrive at Japan.
1547 – Takeda Shingen enacts the Shingen kahō
(Shingen house laws) as the law of his domain.
1568 – Oda Nobunaga occupies Kyoto (=start
Azuchi-Momoyama period).
1573 – end of the Muromachi bakufu, title of
shōgun vacant until 1603.
1577 – Oda Nobunaga enacts rules for the town
below his main castle at Azuchi.
1582 – Nobunaga assassinated. Toyotomi Hideyoshi conducts land survey in Yamashiro
province (model for later nationwide survey).
1585 – Toyotomi Hideyoshi made kanpaku.
1587 – Hideyoshi conquers Kyūshū; issues prohibition against Christianity.
1588 – Hideyoshi issues sword hunt order, nonsamurai have to surrender their swords.
1590 – Hideyoshi defeats the Hōjō at Odawara,
completing the pacification of the country;
orders national census; Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes the lord of Kantō region, based in Edo.
1591 – Hideyoshi prohibits samurai from becoming merchants or farmers.
1597 – 26 Christians are executed.
1598 – Japanese invasions of Korea (started ’93)
end with Japan’s retreat. Hideyoshi dies, opposition against Ieyasu raises.
1600 – Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu victorious.
1603 – Ieyasu becomes Sei-i-tai shōgun (= start
Edo period).
1611 – written oaths of allegiance required of
western daimyo.
1612 – written oaths of allegiance required of
eastern daimyō.
1615 – battle of Tennōji-Okayama, destruction of
opposing Toyotomi house; laws for warriors
(Buke sho-hatto) and laws for the palace and
court nobility (Kinchū narabini kuge sho-hatto)
enacted; “One domain, one castle order”
(ikkoku ichijō rei) enacted, limiting the daimyō
to one castle.
1616 – ban on Christianity reaffirmed; foreign
trade (except Chinese) restricted to Nagasaki
and Hirado (sakoku rei).
1632 – rules for non-daimyō vassals (Shoshi
hatto) of the Tokugawa enacted.
1634 – duties for senior councillors (rōjū) and junior councillors (wakadoshiyori) defined.
1635 – calls by foreign ships limited to Nagasaki.
system of “alternate residence” (sankin kōtai)
instituted.
1637 – Shimabara rebellion (suppressed ’38)
1639 – Portuguese ships forbidden to land in Japan; travel abroad restricted, building of larger
ships forbidden (completion of sakoku policy).
1643 – restriction of sale of land by peasants.
1650 – Keian rebellion by ronin (masterless
samurai).
1651 – adoption of successor in expectation of
death permitted again to tackle ronin problem
7
1665 – tobacco growing on registered land forbidden; rulings for temples and shrines.
1673 – farmers of land below a minimum
putative yield prohibited from dividing their
arable land.
1697 – Jibun shioki rei enacted, allowing daimyo
to exercise autonomous criminal justice in
their fiefs.
1713 – prohibitions against land division (1673)
amended so as to impose a minimum of land
to be separated.
1720 – tattooing instituted as punishment; ban
lifted on the importation of foreign books in
Chinese translations.
1722 – intensification of Tokugawa Yoshimune’s
Kyōhō reforms (1716–‘36): organization of
Edo neighborhood leagues; 1% rice assessment (agemai) on putative daimyō incomes;
relaxation of sankin kōtai policy; Edo neighborhood taxes to be levied in silver instead of
goods and services; etc.
1736 – bakufu limits recoverable interest to 15%
per annum.
1737 – rule that land transferred as security for a
loan can be redeemed only within 10 years
after expiration of mortgage agreement.
1742 – Kujikata osadamegaki (book of rules for
public officials) enacted
1783 – ’87: one million die in the Tenmei famine.
1789 – kien rei, order cancelling all debts to rice
brokers incurred by bakufu house and bannermen within the preceding 6 years.
1790 – regent Matsudaira Sadanobu begins to
issue drastic policies to strengthen the bakufu
(kansei reforms).
1798 – beginning of colonization of Hokkaido.
1825 – order that foreign ships be repulsed.
1841 – begin of Tempō reforms to regain control
over daimyo affairs and fix fiscal problems;
wholesalers’ associations (tonya kabunakama) disbanded; new coinage; ban of “Dutch
learning”, etc.
1842 – order to repulse foreign ships relaxed.
1844 – letter of the Dutch king explains that
western might and trade makes opening of
Japan inevitable, advice politely rejected.
1853 – Perry’s ships arrive at Uraga; injunction
against building large ships withdrawn.
1854 – “treaty of friendship” with the USA; later
this year similar treaty with Great Britain.
1858 – commercial treaty with the USA (“free
trade” at 6 ports, permanent foreign residency, etc.; opposed by many daimyo).
1864 – first expedition against Chōshū.
1865 – treaties confirmed by imperial edict.
1866 – 2nd expedition against Chōshū; agreement on tariffs with USA, GB, France, NL.
1867 – Hyōgō (Kobe) opened for foreign commerce; secret court edict authorizing overthrow of bakufu; shōgun resigns; court proclaims resumption of sovereign powers (ōsei
fukkō, restoration of imperial rule)
1868 – battles of Toba and Fushimi, bakufu destroyed; 5-Article-Charter-Oath, Seitaisho issued; Edo renamed Tokyo; era name changed
to Meiji with the intention to make era names
in the future correspond to imperial reigns.
V – Rise and Deline of Japan as a Constitutional Monarchy
Based on: ISHII Ryōsuke, ibid., 145-53 (with changes), other sources in print and in the public domain
The modern era, 1868 to the present, first part: Japan as a constitutional monarchy
• establishment, consolidation: 1868–1931
• decay: 1932–1945
1869 – the daimyō of Satsuma, Chōshū, Hizen
and Tosa announce surrender of control over
land and people in their domains to the imperial government; emperor moves to Tokyo; daimyō return their fiefs to emperor
Meiji, many becoming “governors” of their
previous domains; civil service code enacted.
1870 – deliberative assembly reorganized as
shūgi’in (lower house); commoners permitted to have surnames, forbidden to carry
swords; new criminal law promulgated; etc.
1871 – domains of shrines and temples confiscated; domain system replaced by a system
of state prefectures; household registration
law promulgated; ministries of justice, and of
education established; eta and hinin class
designations abolished; mission to USA, Europe, headed by Iwakura Tomomi; etc.
1872 – education act issued (state controlled,
western style education with the objective
to achieve universal literacy); Gregorian calendar introduced; order liberating geisha
and prostitutes; Japan asserts control over
the Ryūkyū islands; first Protestant church
(Yokohama); first railway (Tokyo-Yokohama).
1873 – land tax reform (de facto expropriation
of the daimyō); universal conscription order
promulgated (beginning of modern army);
Japanese permitted to marry foreigners;
wives allowed to sue husbands for divorce;
Saigo Takamori, Itagaki Taisuke, and others
fail to get approval for the plan to invade
Korea; etc.
1874 – Itagaki et. al. present petition for the
establishment of a national assembly; Itagaki
returns to Tosa, founds the Jiyū minken undo
(Freedom and Peoples’ Rights Movement);
government suppresses uprising in Saga; etc.
1875 – supreme court founded; civil litigation
hearings opened to the public; commoners
required to assume surnames; libel laws and
newspaper regulations enacted (restrictive);
Japan exchanges with Russia the Sakhalin for
the Kuril islands; etc.
1876 – Sword Ban Order issued (sword-wearing
only by officials at state ceremonies); transformation of samurai stipends into government bonds; treaty of Kanghwa forced on
Korea; rebellion in Ibaraki prefecture against
land tax reform, Akizuki and Hagi rebellions.
1877 – Seinan no eki, or Satsuma rebellion:
Saigo Takamori leads 80.000 ex-samurai
insurgence against the Meiji government,
suppressed after 9 month; land tax reduced.
1878 – civil code completed; law on organization of districts, wards, cities and villages;
regulations on the transfer of factories to
private control; etc.
1879 – Okinawa incorporated as prefecture;
General Staff Office established; Education
Order enacted; etc.
1880 – New Testament translated; restrictive
regulations for public gatherings issued; etc.
1881 – government announces plan of the establishment of National Assembly in 1890;
Liberal Party (Jiyūtō, headed by Itakaki), and
Constitutional Progressive Party (Rikken kaishin tō, by Ōkubo Toshimichi) founded;
1882 – Itō Hirobumi to Europe for study of constitutional law (bias for Germany, returns in
1883); Bank of Japan regulations enacted;
Shinto becomes state religion; etc.
1884 – Ordinance concerning Peers enacted, 5
nobility ranks; Chichibu incident (large scale
peasant revolt, violently suppressed).
1885 – modern dajōkan system replaced by a
modern cabinet system; Itō Hirobumi Prime
Minister; rising tensions between Japan and
China over Korea.
1886 – regulations and laws concerning organiza
tion of ministries, courts, registration of property interests; order for establishment of Imperial University in Tokyo as central government academy; etc.
1887 – rising anti-foreign sentiment of unequal
treaties; Peace Preservation Law restricts public gathering, permits banishment of opposition leaders from Tokyo; Income Tax Law
enacted.
1889 – Constitution promulgated, related laws
and regulations promulgated or enacted.
1890 – The first Diet is elected and convened;
Imperial Rescript on Education, emphasizing
Confucian values; numerous laws and regulation on organization of prefectures, political
parties, civil and criminal procedure promulgated or enacted.
1894 – in Korea rebellion against the Korean
monarchy, quelled by Japanese as well as
Chinese troops; the situation escalates into
the First Sino-Japanese war.
1895 – Treaty of Shimonoseki ends the war with
China and seals Japans victory. Korea now “independant”; as part of reparations, China
cedes the Pescadores, the Liaodong peninsula,
and Formosa (Taiwan).
1900 – Japan supports an international force to
quell the Boxer rebellion in China; increasing
tension between Japan and Russia..
1902 – Anglo-Japanese alliance (Japan regarded
as ally of GB against its biggest rival, Russia).
1904 – Japan invades Korea, declares war on
Russia over control of Korea and the Liaodong
peninsula.
1905 – battle of Tsushima, Japan defeats the
Russian navy. Treaty of Portsmouth ends war;
Korea turned into Japanese protectorate.
1909 – An Chungun assassinates Itō Horobumi in
Manchuria for his role in Japanese Korea politics.
1910 – full annexation of Korea, establishment of
Japanese military rule over Korea.
1912 – Meiji tennō dies, Taishō tennō enthroned.
1914 – WWI breaks out, Japan enters on the
basis of Anglo-Japanese alliance, seizes German concession Tsintao (Qingdao) in China.
1915 – Japan presents a list of 21 demands to
China, fuels anti-Japanese resentment.
1918 – war-fuelled economic growth has caused
inflation, nationwide riots break out in protest
against high rice prices.
1919 – start of Korean independence movement.
1920 – depression, dramatic fall of prices.
1921 – Socialist league founded and disbanded
by the government; Four Power Pacific Treaty
signed, limits naval capacities.
8
1922 – Communist Party of Japan founded
secretly (Nihon kyōsantō)..
1923 – Great Kantō Earthquake kills over
100.000 people, catastrophic destructions.
1925 – Peace Preservation Law (illegal to promote abolition of private property or changes
in the national polity); universal Male
Suffrage Law enacted (age: 25).
1926 – Taishō tennō, dies, succeeded by Hirohito as emperor Shōwa.
1927 – Shōwa financial crisis; interventionist
policy towards China increases.
1928 – crackdown on the Communist Party
(incarceration, torture, etc.); clashes between
Guangdong army and Chinese nationalists.
1929 – US stock market crashes, Great Depression begins, shakes Japan’s economy.
1931 – staged attack on the Japanese South
Manchurian Railway serves as pretext for
takeover of Mukden and South Manchuria,
protest of the League of nations ignored.
1932 – Japan bombs Shanghai to “protect” Japanese citizens. The Finance Minister assassinated; the banker Dan Takuma too; Guangdong
army establishes the puppet state Manchukuo. PM Inukai Tsuyoshi assassinated.
1933 – Japan announces withdrawal from the
League of Nations.
1934 – Japan announces repudiation of the
Washington Treaties.
1936 - February 26 Incident occurs (attempted
militarist coup d’état by 1st army division);
mutual defense pact with Germany.
1937 – Italy included in mutual defense pact;
skirmish near Beijing (incident at the Marco
Polo Bridge) marks the beginning of what will
become the second Sino-Japanese War. In
December Massacre of Nanjing, Japanese
troops commit mass murder of civilians
and systematic rape, loot the city.
1938 – National General Mobilization Act enacted; beginning of “Anti-Japanese Resistance
War” of the Chinese communist forces.
1939 – Hitler attacks Poland; Japan promulgates
labor conscription, and price control orders.
1940 – all political parties dissolved; Imperial
Rule Assistance Organization established;
Japanese puppet regime in China under Wang
Jingwei; military alliance with Axis powers.
1941 – Germany invades the Soviet Union; Japan
invades French Indochina; Konoe Fumimarō
replaced by general Tōjō Hideki as PM; in
December attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval
Force on Hawaii (beginning of Pacific War).
1942 – enactment of Control of Foodstuffs Law;
1943 – power of prime minister strengthened;
US-British concerted counter offensive begins.
1944 – large scale allied air raids over Tokyo.
1945 – Germany surrenders to the allies; Okinawa falls to the allies; Japan’s attempts at
negotiating surrender ignored; Potsdam declaration calls for unconditional surrender; SU
declares war against Japan, takes Kuril islands;
on Aug. 06 atom bomb on Hiroshima, 09. on
Nagasaki; Japan declares surrender in telegram to the allies. In a radio broadcast on
Aug. 15, emperor Hirohito announces his
decision to end the war.
VI – Japan's Rise as a Liberal Democracy From the Allied Occupation to the Bubble Economy
Based on various sources in print and in the public domain
The modern era, 1868 to the present, second part: Japan as a constitutional democracy
• VI = establishment, consolidation and "economic miracle", "bubble economy": 1945–1989 (this page)
• VII = crisis: "burst of the bubble" and "lost decades", "triple disaster" and "Abenomics": 1990–2018 (next pages)
1945 – Aug. 16 and later that year: Higashikuni
Naruhiko Prime Minister (until Oct. 06); first
legal congress of Communist Party; Japan
surrenders formally, Macarthur arrives in
Tokyo; Shigemitsu Mamoru PM; prewar feminist leaders demand woman suffrage;
Macarthur orders to end restriction on civil,
political and religious liberties; State Shinto
disestablished; Japan Socialist Party, Japan
Liberal Party, Japan Progressive Party, Japan
Cooperative Party formed.
1946 – Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (SCAP) rejects drafts of a new constitution and produces an own one, which is presented to the public and later promulgated
as an act of the Japanese government; emperor Hirohito exempted as war criminal;
first diet elections with women participation,
candidates of 363 political parties; In May
beginning of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial; Yoshida Shigeru PM; a socialist (Sōdōmei) and a
rivaling communist labor federation (Sanbetsu) are founded; Labor Relations Adjustment Law passes diet, Revised Land Reform
enacted.
1947 – Yoshida cabinet resigns over strike campaign of gov. workers; USA announce Truman doctrine; diet passes Fundamental Law
of Education (liberalization of curriculum, coeducation); general elections held, Katayama
Tetsu (Socialist Party) PM; new constitution
takes effect; Law for the Elimination of Excessive Concentration of Economic Power
passes diet (foundation for dissolution of the
zaibatsu).
1948 – Decentralization Review Board (DRB) established to counteract the Holding Company Liquidation Commission (HCLC, beginning
of the end of zaibatsu dissolution plans); Katayama-cabinet falls over budget issues,
Ashida Hitoshi (Socialist Party) PM; Ashida
falls over Shōwa Denkō corruption scandal;
War Crimes Tribunal announces verdict; US
National Security Council issues Nine-Point
Program (principles of economic stabilization, to be imposed on Japan).
1949 – the Communist Party increases in general elections its number of seats from 4 to
35; banker Joseph Dodge appointed by Washington to implement the Nine-Point program in Japan; Ministry of Commerce and
Industry and Board of Trade merged to form
the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
1950 – SCAP alarmed by rise of Communism,
purges leaders of the Communist Party and
bans the publication of the party organ, Akahata (Red Flag); beginning of Korean War (on
June 25).
1951 – Macarthur dismissed by Truman, Gen.
Ridgeway appointed as SCAP; supreme court
founded; end of political purges, prewar conservatives return on political stage, form Democratic Party (Hatoyama president); International Peace Treaty signed by 48 nations in
San Francisco, official end of WWII for Japan;
US-Japan Security Treaty (reaction on foundation of Peoples Republic of China in 1949,
beginning of the Cold War); Socialist Party
splits into a Left and a Right Party (one opposing both treaties, the other only the Security Treaty).
1952 – Official end of US occupation of Japan;
Prevention of Subversive Activities Law passes
Diet.
1953 – Ceasefire agreement signed in P'anmunjon, Korea (July 28).
1954 – Mitsubishi completes rebuilding of the
Mitsubishi zaibatsu; PM Yoshida Shigeru
resigns after losing vote of confidence, Hatoyama Ichirō PM.
1955 – Left and Right Socialist Parties reunite
and form the Japan Socialist Party (Nihon
shakaitō), and that triggers the conservative
Liberal and Democratic parties to merge and
form the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP, Jiyū
minshūtō, first time in post-war that Japan has
a two-party system; all subsequent PMs LDP).
1956 – Mitsui bussan completes the process of
reassembling itself as a zaibatsu; Hatoyama
resigns, Ishibashi Tanzan PM; Japan becomes
a member of the United Nations.
1957 – Ishibashi resigns because of health issues,
and class A war criminal convict (didn't get
trialed) Kishi Nobusuke becomes PM.
1958 – National Health Care Act passes diet;
peace treaty with Indonesia.
1959 – more than 1.000.000 citizens and students begin protests against the revision of
the US-Japan Security treaty, beginning of the
treaty revision crisis (Anpo tōsō).
1960 – US-Japan Security Treaty of '51 replaced
by a revised Treaty (goes into effect in June),
nationwide anti-treaty movement, violent
student protests, president Eisenhower cancels visit to Japan; leader of the Socialist Party,
Asanuma Inejirō, assassinated by a militant
right-wing activist during a TV debate; beginning of the Vietnam War (until 1975); Ikeda
Hayato becomes PM and announces his plan
to double income in the decade to come; color
TV broadcast begins.
1964 – Japan joins the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD); the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) recognizes
Japan as one of the 8 leading economic powers; Niigata pollution incident occurs (one of
a number of dramatic environmental incidents
in the later 60s); Tōkaidō Bullet train (Shinkansen) starts service; Summer Olympic
Games held at Tokyo; the lay Nichiren Buddhist organization (Sōka Gakkai) forms the
Clean Government Party (Kōmeitō); Ikeda resigns, Sato Eisaku becomes PM.
1968 – Kawabata Yasunari is awarded the Nobel
Prize in Literature; Japan replaces Germany as
the second largest economy in the world; the
Organization of the Arab Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OAPEC) is founded; Nippon Telegraph commences pager service; massive violent student protest against tuition fees, the
Vietnam War, etc.
1969 – Students occupy the Yasuda lecture hall
(Univ. Tokyo), spectacular clashes between
students and the riot police; Apollo 11 lands
on moon; Japan Space Agency (JAXA) founded.
1970 – Security Treaty prolonged; first Japanese
satellite launched; World Exhibition (EXPO) at
9
Osaka; the Japanese Red Army Faction highjacks Japan Airlines flight 351 and flies it to
North Korea; the writer and right wing activist
Mishima Yukio calls for a military coup and
commits samurai-style ritual suicide.
1971 – Nixon announces state visit to China (first
Nixon shock); Nixon announces a 10% tax on
all imports to the US, dollar no longer convertible into gold (second Nixon shock);
Ministry of the Environment established.
1972 – Okinawa returned to Japan; Tanaka
Kakuei (LDP) PM; Law for Equal Employment
Opportunity of Men and Women passes diet;
recognition of PRCh, end of recognition of
Taiwan (China-Japan Joint Statement); Winter
Olympic Games held at Sapporo.
1973 – 4-fold increase of the price of oil for over
four month (global oil crisis); free exchange
rate for the Yen introduced; RAF and PFLP
(Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine)
highjack a Japan Airlines plane.
1974 – bomb attack on Mitsubishi heavy industry headquarter; Japn. RAF attacks French embassy in Den Hague, takes hostages; Tanaka
resigns over bribery allegations, Miki Takeo
PM; ex-PM Sato accepts Nobel peace prize.
1975 – Japn. RAF takes hostages at the Swedish
embassy in Kuala Lumpur; Japan joins the first
G6-summit.
1976 – International Lockheed corruption scandal, ex-PM Tanaka arrested; Japan joins first
G7 summit; Soviet pilot flees with his MIG-27
jet to Japan; Miki replaced as PM by Fukuda
Takeo (for not protecting Tanaka).
1978 – dramatic overnight increase of oil price
because of Iranian revolution (second oil
shock); Narita airport opens (spectacular antiairport protests continue); Japan-China Treaty
of Amity signed; Ohira Masayoshi PM.
1979 – Ohira dies,
1980 – Suzuki Zenkō PM.
1982 – the first CD ever sold is sold in Japan;
Nakasone Yasuhiro PM.
1984 – Telephone service privatized.
1985 – Japan Tobacco and Salt privatized (becomes JT); Japan Airlines flight JA8119 crashes on its way from Tokyo to Osaka, 520 passengers and crew die; G5-summit agrees on
policy of revaluation of the Yen, exchange
rate to drop from ¥ 240 to ¥ 120 per dollar
in the course of one year (Plaza Agreement).
1986 – private car penetration rate over 70%;
onset of what will be called a "bubble economy"; RAF member fires a rocket at the USembassy in Jakarta; Chernobyl melt-down.
1987 – Takeshita Noboru PM; Japan Rail privatized; US-SU Treaty on the Elimination of intermediate and short range nuclear missiles.
1989 – Shōwa tennō (Hirohito) dies on Jan. 7,
enthronement of Akihito, beginning of Heisei
period; Takeshita resigns over Recruit corruption scandal, Uno Sōsuke PM; 3% consumption tax instituted, public unrest; Uno resigns,
Kaifu Toshiki PM; Tiananmen incident, Berlin
wall falls, US and SU announce end of Cold
War; Nikkei stock index hits all-time high at
38,957.44 intra-day (December 29); choice
properties in Tokyo's Ginza district fetch over
US $ 1.5 million per square meter.
VII.1 – The "Lost Decades" From the Burst of the Bubble to the "Triple Disaster"
Based on various sources in print and in the public domain
1990 – the Ministry of Finance revises the
Money-Lending Business Control and Regulation Law, introducing restrictions on total
lending limits (policy continues for 1 year
and 4 month, seen as one of the pricks that
caused the "bubble" to burst); Iraq invades
Kuweit; "reunification" of Germany.
1991 – the "bubble" begins to collapse, onset
of what will be called the "lost decade", and
later on the "lost decades"; North and South
Korea join the UN; Gulf war (US and Allies
against Iraq); Miyazawa Ki'ichi PM; the SU
collapses, former SU countries form the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
1992 – Sony introduces the Mini Disk; laws for
the cooperation with UN Peace Keeping
Operations (PKO, legal foundation to deploy
military abroad in spite of article 9 of the
constitution); and for the restriction of car
emissions pass diet; Sagawa kyūbin scandal
occurs (illegal donations to the LDP and a
related organization).
1993 – second generation of wireless telecom
introduced (2G); dial-up access introduced,
first internet service providers (ISP); rice
shortage due to cold summer (emergency
imports disturb global rice markets, follow
ing critique forces Japan to review its protectionist rice polices); Hosokawa Morihiro
PM, first non-JDP PM since 1955 (Japan New
Party, founded in 1992, neoliberal, conservative); first official recognition of and apology
for systemic rape of comfort women during
WWII; Basic Environment Law passes diet;
Treaty of Maastricht (European Union founded).
1994 – Haneda Tsutomu PM (New Life Party,
neo-conservative, neoliberal derivative from
the LDP, disappeared in 1994), resigned after
64 days; Murayama Tomi'ichi PM (Social
Democratic Party); members of the AUM
sect injure 600 people in a sarin gas attack in
the city of Matsumoto; Oe Kenzaburō wins
the Nobel Prize in Literature.
1995 – use of PCs becomes widespread,
number of people using internet and e-mail
explodes; Office Word, Excel, etc. become
commonplace at workplaces with the introduction of Windows95; 10 million people
use mobile phones; Kobe Earthquake kills
6500 people; members of the AUM sect kill
13 and injure 6300 in a sarin attack on the
Tokyo subway; World Trade Organization
(WTO) founded; Asian Women's fund established; first official recognition of and apology to the victims of Japanese colonialism.
1996 – cable TV and DVD-ROM introduced; investigation by the Ministry of Finance reveals housing loan crisis, loss of total assets
¥ 6.4 trillion, financial system at the brink
of collapse, bail-out policies adopted; Hashimoto Ryūtarō PM (LDP); Democratic Party of
Japan founded (liberalism, multiculturalism,
decentralization, etc). Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty adopted; "financial big
bang" (big financial reform to overcome the
the post-bubble crisis; in effect until 2001).
1997 – ASEAN+3 (Southern Asia + Japan, South
Korea, China) established; consumption tax
raised to 5%; law for the promotion of the
culture of the Ainu minority, organ transplantation law, Public Nursing Care Insurance Law pass diet; Honkong returned to
to China; the Asian Financial Crisis occurs, raises fears of a meltdown of the global financial
system due to financial contagion; several
Japanese companies go bankrupt (Yaohan,
Nissan Mutual Life, Yamaichi Securities, etc.).
1998 – ISDN-service, iMac introduced; Olympic Winter Games held at Nagano; Financial
Services Agency established; Hashimoto resigns, Obuchi Keizō PM (LDP); Act on Special
Measures Concerning Claim Management and
Collection Businesses released, Non Profit Organazations Act issued; Google founded (US).
1999 – 50 million people use mobile phones (40%
penetration rate), law against phoning while
driving released; ADSL broadband service introduced; IT-bubble emerges ("dot-com-bubble", due to massive investments into IT-companies); Freedom of Information Act, Self-Defense Forces Law, Act on National Flag and
Anthem (hinomaru and kimigayo formally
established as Japan's flag and anthem), wiretapping law pass diet; accident at a nuclear facility in Tokaimura exposes 70 workers to
radiation, kills 2; Macao returned to China.
2000 – Mori Yoshirō PM (LDP); G8+EU summit
held on Okinawa.
2001 – Third generation of wireless mobile telecom (3G) introduced; central government restructured (reduction of ministries from 22 to
12); Mori resigns, Koizumi Junichiro PM (LDP);
Koizumi's visit of the Yasukuni shrine (where
class A war criminals are enshrined), and his
approval of the publication of a controversial
history textbook cause fallout in Japan's relations with the Koreas and China; the global ITbubble collapses, Nikkei stock index hits 16
and 17 years lows, the Bank of Japan adopts
quantitative easing policies; the 9.11 terror
attacks in the USA enforce the calamities; unemployment rates have reached a historical
high (4,7% of women, 5,2% of men according
to Japanese counting); big companies announce further lay-offs of tens of thousands of
employees; Japan officially in yet another recession, a "lost decade" has completed itself;
US "War against Terror" begins in Afghanistan.
2002 – 70% of households in Japan use a PC;
Sony announces the Blu-ray Disc; Putin and
Bush sign Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions (SORT); in Japan, the salt trade is liberalized; the school week is reduced to five school
days (no school on Saturdays); the Road Traffic
Law is revised, penalties for drunk driving are
increased; South Korea and Japan host the
FIFA world-cup together; bilateral negotiations
between Japan and North Korea.
2003 – USA and allies invade Irak under the false
pretenses that Iraq is involved into the 9.11attacks, produces weapons of mass destructtion and is about to master the production of
nuclear weapons; Japan deploys forces to Iraq
(for non-combat support, missions continue
until 2009); The Liberal Party merges with the
Democratic Party (DPJ).
2004 – Several Japanese citizens are taken hostage in Iraq to force Japan to withdraw its military (one hostage killed, decapitation televised
in the internet); Teito Rapid Transit Authority
privatized, becomes Tokyo Metro; display of
consumption tax-inclusive pricing made compulsory; negotiations between Japan and
North Kora (return of abducted Japanese citizens for food assistance, etc.). The Chinese Le-
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novo Corp. takes over the PC segment of IBM.
2005 – Internet penetration rate 70% (individual
citizens); World EXPO opens in Aichi; postal
service restructured and privatized.
2006 – Yamanaka Shinya and his team succeed in
creating induced pluripotent stem cells (awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2012);
Nikkei drops suddenly in reaction to a raid
of the headquarters of Lifedoor because of
accounting fraud (Lifedoor shock); Abe
Shinzō (LDP) replaces Koizumi as PM.
2007 – LDP loses Upper House election, Abe resigns, Fukuda Yasuo (LDP) elected as PM by
the Lower House (Upper House controlled by
the DPJ); In the US the "sub-prime Bubble"
bursts, causes the fall of Lehman Brothers
Holdings (Lehman shock), and develops into
the Global Financial Crisis; the Nikkei plunges
to an average stock price of ¥ 6994.
2008 – sale of the iPhone begins in Japan (beginning of the smart phone era); G8-summit in
Hokkaido; Fukuda resigns, Asō Tarō (LDP) PM.
2009 – the first Android smart phone is sold in
Japan; tax reduction for low emission cars introduced; Barak Obama President of the US;
citizen judge system introduced; Aso dissolves
the diet, overwhelming victory of the Democratic Party (DPJ) in subsequent Lower House
elections, Hatoyama Yukio PM.
2010 – wireless telecom generation 3.9 (LTE) introduced; Japan ends its support of the war in
Afghanistan, but PM backs down from his promise to close the US bases on Okinawa; the
Social Democratic Party leaves his coalition,
Hatoyama resigns, Kan Naoto (DPJ) PM; DPJ
defeated in Upper House elections; China
overtakes Japan as second largest economy.
2011 – mobile phone penetration rate 100%
(128 million subscribers), 40,7% of all households with FTTH standard contracts; on March
11 the Sendai earthquake (M9) causes a devastating tsunami and the melt down of all
four reactor units of the TEPCO Fukushima
dai'ichi nuclear power plant, resulting in the
contamination of vast regions of Japan ("triple
disaster", more than 15.000 die immediately,
another 5000 are missing, most of them because of the tsunami); an area of 20km radius
around the site is evacuated and declared uninhabitable; Japan switches from analog to digital TV; Lenovo (China) takes over the PC-segment of the Nippon Electric Company (NEC);
Kan Naoto resigns, Noda Yoshihko (DPJ) becomes PM; the yen-dollar exchange rate reaches ¥ 75 / $ (strongest yen since end of WW
WWII); Kim Jong-un becomes the new leader
of North Korea; diet passes law for the establishment of a Reconstruction Agency.
2012 – South Korea's president Lee Myung-bak
causes outrage in Japan by setting foot on the
Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo, controlled by Korea,
claimed by Japan); Japan's Foreign Ministry
causes outrage in China by a setting up a website in support of Japan's claims to the Senkaku Islands; several right-wing organizations
merge to the Japan Restauration Party (neoconservative, revisionist, economically neoliberal); landslide victory of LDP in general elections, rightwing nationalist Abe Shinzō again
PM, promises to make Japan proud again, and
to lead it out of yet another "lost decade" by
means of monetary easing, fiscal stimulus,
and structural reforms ("Abenomics").
VII.2 – Splendor and Misery in the First Five Years of "Abenomics"
Based on various sources in print and in the public domain
2013 – Park Geun-hye President of South Korea; Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China; Mount Fuji registered as
world cultural heritage; South Korea bans
import of Japanese fishery products because
of fear of radioactive contamination; Tokyo
wins the bid for the 2020 Olympic Summer
Games; Japanese cuisine declared Intangible
Cultural Heritage; encouraged also by the US
(and triggered by people publishing own radiation measurements) the Diet promulgates the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets ("State Secrecy Law", an
"unprecedented threat to freedom of information" according to Reporters Without Borders, a return to the WWII Peace Preservation Law according to other critics); Abe visits
the Yasukuni shrine (where also war criminals are enshrined) and further damages the
relations with Japan's neighbors; Nikkei average stock price: ¥ 16.291, $ to ¥ exchange
rate: 1:105; World Press Freedom Index:
rank 53 (rank 22 in 2012, and 11 in 2010).
2014 – Akasaki Isamu, Amano Hiroshi and Nakamura Shuji are awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physics for their development of blue LEDs;
smartphone penetration rate 53,5%, PC penetration rate 86,9%; Tax-Free Small-Lot Investment Program introduced to boost appetite for investments (NISA, "Nippon Individual Savings Account"); the consumption
tax rises to 8%; the star researcher Obakata
Haruko becomes world-famous for having
committed massive data fraud in her stemcell research; Abe announces to lower the
corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% in the
years to come; Abe (who campaigns for a revision of the "pacifist" article 9 of the constitution) emphasizes the right of collective
self-defense; the Japan Restoration Party
merges with the Unity Party (founded in
2013) to form the Innovation Party (centralist, conservative, small government, decentralization); the UN Human Rights Commission mentions the treatment of the WWII
comfort women issue by Japan in a report on
the state of violence against women, the Abe
government issues a rebuttal, then withdraws it in order to not further feed the criticism; Abe Shinzō meets Xi Jinping, first Japanese-Chinese summit since 3 years; 3rd Abe
cabinet is formed; Nikkei average stock price
¥ 17.450; exchange rate $ 1: ¥ 119; Press
Freedom Index rank 59 (-6). Also in 2014: Lenovo (China) takes over Motorola Mobile;
the Russian Federation annexes the Crimean
Peninsula from Ukraine; Ebola outbreak in
West Africa (20.000 casualties); in the Middle East the Islamic State (ISIL, ISIS, IS) is
established.
2015 – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
for Ōmura Satoshi (Japan), William Champbell (US) and Tu Youyou (China) for the development of various groundbreaking pharmaceuticals; ISIL highjacks two Japanese citizens
and demands 200 million dollar ransom; Abe
gives a speech at the occasion of the 70th
anniversary of the end of WWII, avoiding any
direct mentioning of Japan's responsibility,
thus "makes an end to apologizing diplomacy" (Nihon keizai shinbun) and is received accordingly by the former victims of Japan's aggression; cabinet advances revision of milita-
ry legislation; Japan Sports Agency (JSA) estalished to streamline and unify sport related
policies; under the umbrella of the Ministry of
Defense, the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) is established; Temporary Staffing Services Law enacted (regulating
working conditions of dispatched workers);
Japan's Foreign Minister and his South Korean
counterpart come to terms about the WWII
comfort women issue: the Japanese government "feels painfully the responsibility for many women's honor and dignity having been violated under the involvement of the military
at that time" (so the Foreign Minister of Japan
at the joint press conference); Nikkei average
stock price ¥ 17.450; exchange rate $1 : ¥119;
Press Freedom Index rank: 61. Also in 2015:
in Tianjin, China, 165 people die in a massive
explosion of a chemicals' storehouse; 130 are
killed in simultaneous terror attacks committed by ISIL in Paris.
2016 – The oil price drops to a low of $ 28 per
barrel, and the growth of China's economy has
slowed down, and as a consequence the Nikkei plunges rapidly, and the bank of Japan responds to that by adopting a policy of negative
interest rates, which again causes investments
in real estate to rise to the highest level since
the bubble of 1989; Oosumi Yoshinori receives
the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for
his research on autophagy in yeast cells; North
Korea tests a long range missile (flies over Okinawa); Toshiba sells its White goods segment
to the Midea Group (China); The Hokkaidō bullet train starts service; the Democratic Party of
Japan (DPJ, Minshūtō), and the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin no tō) merge to form the Democratic Party (Minshintō: centrism, constitutional democracy, social liberalism, multiculturalism, popular sovereignty, international
cooperation, pacifism, etc.); The first of a series of cabinet meetings to shape legislation
for the Reform of the Work-Style is held, constituting the core of what is supposed to be
the "second phase of Abenomics" [reducing
long working hours of employees by means of
regulations on overtime to make it attractive
for women and elderly to join the shrinking
work force (Japan has the lowest birth rate in
the world); reducing the disparity in wages between full-time employees and irregular workers to enhance morale and productivity (parttime and term-contract workers account for
40% of the labor force); raising wages to increase purchasing power and consumer spending (remains weak despite growth of the finance and export sectors of the economy];
Promotion of Women in the Workplace Bill enacted; Hon Hai Precision Industry (Taiwan)
buys the Sharp Corporation; G7-summit at Shimashi, Obama visits Hiroshima (first visit ever
of a US president); yet another raise of the
consumption tax from 8% to 10% announced
for 2019; revision of the Public Offices Election
Act (voting age for all citizens of over 18); the
Brexit referendum in Great Britain temporarily
sends the Nikkei down to an average stock
price of ¥15.000 (soon recovers); the Pokémon GO wave grows into a tsunami of planetary proportions and engulfs Japan; the government issues ¥28 trillion to aid the economy; Koike Yuriko (ex-Minister of Defense in
Abe's cabinet of 2007) becomes the first fe-
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male governor of Tokyo (economic liberalism,
aggressive privatization, efficiency-based budgetary reform, protection of the environment,
conservative nationalism, etc.); Japanese athletes win a couple of medals in the Brazil
Olympic Games; the Tenno announces that he
is sort of tired of being Emperor and wants to
retire; Murata Renhō (Lien-Fang) becomes the
head of the Democratic Party (Minshintō, see
above); the Chinese Lenovo corporation announces plan to buy the PC segment of Fujitsu
Limited; census reveals decline of Japan's population (127 million); Nikkei average stock
price in December: ¥ 19.114; $/¥ exchange
rate 1:116; World Press Freedom Index rank
67 (-6); Also in 2016: the Renminbi becomes
an international currency; Donald Trump wins
the US presidential election.
2017 – the Japan Gerontological Society proposes to define as Senior Citizens all persons of
75 or more years of age; the mayor of Tokyo,
Koike Yuriko, establishes the Tokyo Citizens
First Association (localism, right-wing populism); US-Japan summit at Tokyo; media reveal that PM Abe and his wife are involved in
favoritism in the educational sector ("Morikake" scandal); in the framework of the Working-Style Reform (see 2016) the upper limit
of overtime is set at 100 hours per month (!);
jobs-to-applicants ratio with 1.48 highest ever
measured (1.46 at the time of the "bubble");
Special Provisions to the Imperial House Law
Concerning the Emperor's Abdication promulgated; the LDP experiences a historical defeat
in the elections of the Tokyo City Parliament,
Koike's right-wing Citizens First Association
(see above) strongest party; the price of land
adjoining the Ginza road in Tokyo exceeds
"bubble"-period levels; the EU-Japan Trade
Agreement "90% complete"; the UN Treaty
on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is
adopted by 122 member states (yet all NATO
states, Australia, Japan, South, and North Korea are not among them); Okinoshima and
associated sites are listed as World Cultural
Heritage; the entourage of Koike Yuriko establishes the Japan First Association (preparation
for the coming general elections); the Toshiba
Corporation is demoted to the Second List of
the Tokyo Stock Exchange; the total value of
the assets of the Government Pension Investment Fund reaches a historical high (¥149 trillion); North Korea undertakes ist 6th nuclear
test, the UN Security Council imposes sanctions in response (for the 9th time); the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko, establishes the
Party of Hope (right-wing populism, anti-nuclear power, administrative reform, localism,
etc.); Edano Yukio establishes the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (socially liberal,
centrist, constitutional grass-roots democracy,
anti-nuclear power, etc.); in the general elections on October 10 clear victory of Abe's LDP
(248 seats, Edano's Const. Dem. Party 55, Koike's Party of Hope 50); Nikkei average stock
price in December: ¥ 22,764; $/¥ exchange
rate 1:112; World Press Freedom Index rank
72 (-5). Also in 2017: massive protest movement in Korea, President Park Geun-hye arrested, Moon Jae-in elected as new president;
Kim Jong-nam (eldest son of the ex-leader of
North Korea) assassinated in a VX-toxin attack
at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.